Standard 2.9.2

Foods for Infants

Purpose

This Standard provides for the compositional (including nutritional) and labelling requirements of foods intended and/or represented for use as food for infants.  Foods in this Standard are intended to be fed to infants in addition to human milk and/or infant formula products.  This Standard does not apply to Infant Formula Products, as they are regulated by Standard 2.9.1, nor does it apply to Formulated Meal Replacements and Formulated Supplementary Foods as they are regulated by Standard 2.9.3.

The Standard recognises the specific needs of infants relating to the texture of the food, the infant’s digestion ability, renal capacity and the need for high energy and nutrient intake to support rapid growth.  This Standard recognises the particular microbiological and immunological susceptibility of infants including the potential for the development of food allergy.

General labelling requirements are contained in Part 1.2.  See Standard 1.2.4 – Labelling of Ingredients for ingredient labelling requirements, including for declaration of compound ingredients in foods for infants.  Microbiological requirements are contained in Standard 1.6.1 – Microbiological Limits for Food.

This Standard amends the application of Standard 1.2.8 – Nutrition Information Requirements in relation to food for infants.

Table of Provisions

1 Interpretation

2 General compositional requirements

3 Additional compositional requirements for cereal-based foods

4 Additional compositional requirements for non-cereal-based foods

5 Labelling

6 Additional labelling requirements relating to specific nutrients and energy  information

7 Representations

8 Claims about vitamins and minerals

9 Nutrition information

10 Food in dehydrated or concentrated form

11 Storage requirements

Clauses

1 Interpretation

In this Standard –

cereal-based food means a food for infants that is based on cereal.

ESADDI means, for a vitamin or mineral in column 1 of Table 3 to clause 8, the estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intake specified for  that vitamin or mineral in column 2.

food for infants means a food that is intended and/or represented for use as a source of nourishment for infants, but does not include –
 

(a) infant formula products; and

(b) formulated meal replacements; and

(c) formulated supplementary foods; and

(d) unprocessed fruit and vegetables.

fruit-based food means a food for infants that is based on fruit.

infant means a person up to the age of 12 months.

infant formula product means an infant formula product as defined in Standard 2.9.1.

RDI means, for a vitamin or mineral in column 1 of Table 2 to clause 8, the recommended dietary intake specified in relation to that vitamin or mineral in column 2 calculated and expressed in the form specified in the Table.

sugars has the meaning in Standard 2.8.1 and includes honey.

2 General compositional requirements

(1) Food for infants must not contain a food additive or nutritive substance unless –

(a) expressly permitted by this Code; or

(b) the food additive or nutritive substance is naturally present in an ingredient of the food for infants.

(2) Food for infants may contain –

(a) sugars, provided in the case of a vegetable juice, fruit drink or a non-alcoholic beverage, the total sugars content of the food is no more than       4 g/100 g; and

(b) lactic acid producing cultures; and

(c) either singularly or in combination, no more than 0.8 g/ 100 g of inulin-derived substances and galacto-oligosaccharides, as consumed.

(3) For paragraph 2(2)(c) the maximum permitted amount only applies when the substances are added. In that case the maximum permitted amount then applies to the sum of the naturally occurring and the added substances.

(4) Food for infants must not contain –

(a) more than 50 mg/100 g of total iron in cereal-based food on a moisture free basis; or

(b) honey, unless it has been treated to inactivate Clostridium botulinum spores; or

(c) more than the total quantity of sodium set out in column 2 of the Table to this paragraph for  each particular type of food for infants; or

(d) added salt, in the case of ready-to-eat fruit-based foods, fruit drink and vegetable juice.

Table to paragraph 2(4)(c)

Maximum permitted quantity of sodium in

food for infants

(5) Food for infants intended for infants under the age of 6 months must be formulated and manufactured to a consistency that minimises the risk of choking.

3 Additional compositional requirements for cereal-based foods

(1) Cereal-based food for infants which contains more than 70% cereal, on a moisture free basis, and is promoted as suitable for infants over the age of 6 months –

(a) must contain no less than 20 mg iron/100 g on a moisture free basis; and

(b) may contain added iron in the following forms:

(i) electrolytic iron; or

(ii) reduced iron; or

(iii) in the permitted forms set out in Schedule 1 of Standard 2.9.1; and

(c) may contain added thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, magnesium in the forms permitted in Schedule 1 of Standard 2.9.1; and

(d) may contain added vitamin C to a maximum level of 90 mg/100 g on a moisture free basis.

(2) Cereal-based food for infants which contains more than 70% cereal, on a moisture free basis, and is promoted as suitable for infants from 4 months of age may contain added –

(a) iron in the following forms:

(i) electrolytic iron; or

(ii) reduced iron; or

(iii) in the permitted forms as set out in Schedule 1 of Standard 2.9.1; and

(b) vitamin C in the forms permitted in Schedule 1 of Standard 2.9.1 to a maximum level of 90 mg/100 g on a moisture free basis.

4 Additional compositional requirements for non-cereal-based foods

Foods for infants other than cereal-based food for infants –

(a) in the case of vegetable juices, fruit drinks and gels, must contain no less than 25 mg/100 g of vitamin C; and

(b) in the case of fruit-based foods, may contain vitamin C and/or folate in the permitted forms set out in Schedule 1 of Standard 2.9.1.

5 Labelling

(1) This clause does not apply to packaged water.

(2) The label on a package of food for infants must not include a recommendation, whether express or implied, that the food is suitable for infants less than four months old.

(3) The label on a package of food for infants must include –

(a) a statement indicating the consistency of the food; and

(b) a statement indicating the minimum age, expressed in numbers, of the infants for whom the food is recommended; and

(c) where the food is recommended for infants between the ages of 4-6 months, in association with the statement required by paragraph (b), the words –

‘Not recommended for infants under the age of 4 months’; and

(d) where the added sugars content of the food for infants is more than 4 g/100 g, the word –

‘sweetened’; and

(e) where honey has been used as an ingredient, in association with the word ‘honey, the word –

‘sterilised’.

6 Additional labelling requirements relating to specific nutrients and energy information

(1) In this clause, food source of protein means milk, eggs, cheese, fish, meat (including poultry), nuts and legumes.

(1A) Where a reference is made in the label on a package of food for infants (including in the name of the food) to a food source of protein, the percentage of that food source of protein in the final food must be declared in the label.

(2) Where a food for infants contains more than of 3 g/100 kJ of protein, the label on the package must include the words –

‘Not suitable for infants under the age of 6 months’.

(3) A claim must not be made, whether express or implied, that a food for infants is a source of protein unless no less than 12% of the average energy content of the food is derived from protein.

7 Representations

(1) A food must not be represented as being the sole or principal source of nutrition for infants.

(2) The label on a package of food for infants must not include a recommendation that the food can be added to bottle feeds of an infant formula product.

8 Claims about vitamins and minerals

(1) A claim must not be made, whether express or implied, in relation to a food for infants comparing the vitamin or mineral content of the food with that of any other food unless such a claim is expressly permitted elsewhere in this Standard.

(2) A claim, either express or implied, as to the presence of a vitamin or mineral in a food for infants may be made if the food contains in a normal serve at least 10% of the RDI as specified in Table 2 to this clause or at least 10% of the ESADDI as specified in Table 3 to this clause, for that vitamin or mineral.

(3) A claim, either express or implied, that a food for infants is a good source of a vitamin or mineral may be made if a reference quantity of the food contains at least 25% of the RDI as specified in Table 2 to this clause or at least 25% of the ESADDI as specified in Table 3 to this clause.

(4) A claim, whether expressed or implied, must not be made in relation to a fruit-based food for infants that the food contains more than –

(a) 60 mg/100 g of vitamin C; or

(b) 150 g/100 g of folate.

(5) A claim must not be made, whether express or implied, in relation to a cereal-based food for infants to which a vitamin or mineral has been added, that the food contains in a normal serve that vitamin or mineral in a quantity greater than that specified in relation to that vitamin or mineral in column 2 of Table 1 to this clause.

Table 1 to clause 8

Maximum claims per serve for cereal-based foods for infants

Table 2 to clause 8

Recommended Dietary Intake for infants

Table 2 to clause 8 (continued)

Recommended Dietary Intake for infants

# - These figures represent US Adequate Intake Levels

1, 2, 3, and 4 – these numbers refer to the corresponding

numbers in the footnotes in Schedule 1 in Standard 1.1.1

Table 3 to clause 8

Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake for infants

# - These figures represent US Adequate Intake Levels

9 Nutrition information

(1) The following provisions of Standard 1.2.8 do not apply to this Standard –

(a) paragraph 3(j); and

(b) paragraph 5(1)(e) as it relates to saturated fat and subclauses 5(2), 5(4) and 5(5); and

(c) clause 7; and

(d) clause 8; and

(e) clause 9; and

(f) subclause 17(2).

(2) The nutrition information panel for food for infants must be set out in the following format –

10 Food in dehydrated or concentrated form

(1) The label on a package of food in dehydrated or concentrated form must include directions for how the food should be reconstituted, and the particulars set out in each column of the panel must be expressed as a proportion of the food as reconstituted according to those directions.

(2) If more than one fluid for preparing the food is nominated in the label, the particulars set out in the column should be adjusted according to the first liquid nominated and the name of this liquid must be included in the Nutrition Information Panel.

11 Storage requirements

The label on a package of food for infants must contain storage instructions covering the period after it is opened.